While harvest isn’t going to be nearly as late as it was in 2019, that doesn’t mean the crop is free of threats. Dry weather, insect pests and diseases can still steal grain and crop standability could lead to a challenging, loss-filled harvest.

One thing is for certain, if you haven’t been in fields recently, you need to get your boots dirty to set harvest expectations.

“One thing that seems to surprise growers on farm visits is the actual ear count numbers we've coming up with,” says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Many fields we're putting 6,000 to 8,000 small ears together to make 3,000 to 4000 actual ears. Do your kernel counts on the uniform ears and calculate that out against your adjusted ear plants that are broken off [or small].”

Plants broken off at the ear node from the wind should count for about half an ear, too. If the corn is down, account for some loss there, too.

“I still see some good yields, but I’m not sure they’re as high as some of you think,” he adds. “When someone tells me the crop looks good but doesn’t know their ear count, it worries me. You might be in for an unexpected disappointment.”

What’s still stealing yield?

Mother Nature, insects and disease to say the least. Drought conditions could be one of the biggest yield-limiting factors across the Midwest, and late-planted corn and soybeans are at the greatest risk.

“In dry areas, beans are getting dinged harder than corn,” Ferrie says. “Most April and May corn is far enough along that the daily water usage has dropped off, we might be taking the top out of some yield, but I predict it is still going to be some pretty decent yields.”

For corn, especially later planted fields, keep an eye out for tar spot and southern rust as it’s sneaking into some fields. If the field is still green enough, it can potentially reduce yields and reduce standability.

Spider mites are sneaking into both corn and soybean fields. These sucking, penetrating pests can reduce photosynthetic capabilities. Learn more about them here.

“Sudden death syndrome (SDS) is showing up in both early- and late-planted soybeans,” Ferrie says. “More in early beans but there are only a couple fields I would rate as a disaster at this point.”

He’s seeing this early-season pathogen whose symptoms appear in reproductive stages in both treated and non-treated fields. Seed treatment is typically used to reduce risk of SDS because it’s a very early season fungal infection.

Check out more of Ferrie and scout observations here: